


Wherever She Is (A Stranger Things AU)

by Lila_Rosenberg



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Flashbacks, Gore, Murder, Murder Mystery, One Shot, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prequel, Revenge, Short, Song Lyrics, Songfic, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 09:12:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17322155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lila_Rosenberg/pseuds/Lila_Rosenberg
Summary: Barbara Holland was murdered. Her mutilated body was found in the school library, but they never found her killer.Almost a year later, Nancy is still haunted by flashbacks and nightmares after having to identify her friend's body. She doesn't know if it'll ever stop, but she's glad that she has Jonathan by her side.





	Wherever She Is (A Stranger Things AU)

It was funny how emotions caught up to you, even after a year it happened. If her body was the water, then the guilt and pain were the oil, tainting her mind and feelings. And if you added the horror as arsenic, then you would have the perfect combination of the poison that was slowly ruining her. No matter what remedy she tried, none of them were ever the cure to her misery. She had begun to accept that perhaps there would never be a cure.

 

Nancy gasped awake that October night, her skin breaking out in goosebumps and sweat. The image of her friend’s dead, broken body lying on the morgue table breaking through the dream and into reality. The slashes that ravaged her skin, the blood dripping from her eyes and her fingers that lay at disjointed ends.

 

Nancy began to sob as she attempted to fight off the flashback, where she was being forced to identify Barbara Holland all over again. _Please let it stop,_ she begged her mind, _don’t let it happen again. I’ve already had to identify her once, just leave me be._

 

 _Based on the previous killings, this could be a ritual sacrifice,_ The officer beside her explained.

 

The mortician seemed to agree with this, _I mean, the poor girl is lucky she still has her head and hands, considering the other deaths._

 

Her eyes instinctively flew to Barbara’s neck and wrists, which were almost completely separated from her body, only held on by tendons that were close to breaking. The blood that had poured from these wounds was now dry and coated her chest and fingers.

 

Nancy looked away instantly, feeling terror and nausea fly up her throat. _Who could do such a thing?_ She thought.

 

“Nancy!” A voice whispered, trying to calm her and simultaneously pull her out of the memory. “Nancy, it’s okay.”

 

She was flown back onto her bed and the arms that wrapped around her supportively. Coarse yet kind hands grazed themselves against her shoulders, attempting to soothe the crying girl. She looked up to see the brown eyes of Jonathan Byers gleaming in the moonlight. They beamed with empathy and support, easing her racing heart back into a smooth, stable rhythm and making her feel safe.

 

She wiped the snot, tears and sweat away from her face, “I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s okay, Nance, you don’t have to apologise for anything,” He whispered.

 

“Yeah,” She adjusted her position to make her comfy once again, “let’s just go back to sleep.” Her mind didn’t agree with this statement, and in fact protested it.

 

Jonathan reached past her to grab his iPhone off of his bedside table. Pressing the home button and checking the time, he said, “C’mon, I’ve got a better idea.”

 

He took her hand and guided her out of his bedroom, where he would take her to do something that he knew was her favourite coping mechanism.

 

*

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to play your own music?”

 

He shook his head, “No, you play it. After all, this is for you.”

 

Nancy couldn’t argue with this, so she plugged her iPhone into the auxiliary cord and opened the Spotify app. She shuffled her saved songs and sat back, the first song floating out of the car’s speakers and into her ears. She sat back and sighed, letting the vibrations of the moving car take her to a place she rarely visited these days, bliss. That was when the next song came on.

 

_Thought I found a way_   
_Thought I found a way, yeah (found)_   
_But you never go away (never go away)_   
_So I guess I gotta stay now_

 

 _Oh, I hope_ some day _I'll make it out of here_  
 _Even if it takes all night or a hundred years_  
 _Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near_  
 _Wanna feel alive, outside I can fight my fear_

 

Those words stung her, filling her with an unwelcome warmth and making her thoughts swell with grief. Tears began to brim again, making her vision blurry.

 

_Isn't it lovely, all alone?_   
_Heart made of glass, my mind of stone_   
_Tear me to pieces, skin and bone_   
_Hello, welcome home_

 

Jonathan, glancing at her before placing his eyes back on the road again, suggested that she skip to something happier.

 

“No,” She disagreed, “Sometimes we need to face the grief and pain head on before we do anything else.”

 

He didn’t object to this, instead asking, “And then what happens next?”

 

“We start to feel better.”

 

This time she decided to listen to the words that flowed out of her mouth, letting the tears slip and itch her cheeks. Some of the salty substance slipped into her mouth but by the time the final violins played, she was indeed starting to feel a bit calmer.

 

That was when her thoughts broke through the dry crevices of her lips and decided to ask the question that had been haunting her for months. “Do you think that wherever Barb is now, she’s happy?”

 

Jonathan shrugged, “Honestly, I don’t know. I think she’d be glad that she’s no longer in pain, considering the agonising way she died…”

 

The words struck her, causing her to let out a small, “Yeah.”

 

Her boyfriend used one of his hands to caress her shoulder in a calming manner, “Hey, wherever she is, I know she’d want you to be happy as well.”

 

“But what if I can’t be happy until we at least find who did this to her?”

 

“I don’t know, I honestly don’t know.”

 

She could see in the way that his eyes looked around nervously that it wasn’t the actual answer.

 

“Jonathan…”

 

“What?”

 

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

 

“I just did!”

 

“I mean what you’re _actually_ thinking.”

 

His shoulders seized and he hesitated. Finally, he sighed and caved in, “We find the bastard and make sure that they pay. We make sure they never enjoy the pleasures of life again and instead spend the rest of their days behind bars.”

 

“So you’re saying we go killer hunting?”

 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

 

“Then we’ll do it, but I think we’ll need some backup.”

 

And she knew exactly who to call. Somebody she trusted and knew wouldn’t fail her. But she would have to call them in the morning, as it had just passed midnight the last time she checked her phone. Which gave her plenty of time to think of a plan with Jonathan. A plan that couldn’t fail, _would never_ fail, if she could help it.

 

_Don’t worry, Barb, I promise you’ll see justice._

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! I apologise for the abrupt ending but I'm debating whether to turn this into a series. I kind of want to make it like a crime series but I'm kind of unsure. Let me know if you think I should consider it! :)


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